Northfield Community Day of Service to be Held May 8

For the eighth straight year, businesses, employers, Community Education and Recreation, and Carleton and St. Olaf colleges will collaborate with numerous volunteers for Northfield Community Day of Service. The event, to be held on Saturday, May 8, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., brings together more than 200 youth and adults who cooperate on service projects in the community. This one-day service plunge typically includes many clean-up and beautification projects – planting flowers in a public space, gathering litter in city parks, painting railings in downtown Northfield – but organizers this year also plan to serve people more directly, with visits to senior residences. “Many of us find ways throughout the year to contribute to the community,” says co-coordinator Susan Sanderson, youth programs coordinator with Community Education and Recreation. “But the Northfield Community Day of Service really does build community. The nature and variety of the projects means there’s something for everyone. “I especially value the intergenerational aspect,” Sanderson adds. “This is an important part of being a healthy community.” Puppetry Celebration to Honor Brown v. Board Decision In conjunction with Northfield Community Day of Service, a group of students from Carleton College, Northfield High School and the Northfield School of Arts and Technology (ARTech) will present a puppet performance titled “A Battle Against the Forces of Apathy, Hopelessness and Cynicism” at 12:30 p.m. in Central Park, just east of Northfield Middle School. The event is free and open to the public, and will coincide with a free picnic for volunteers who participate in Northfield Community Day of Service. The performance will present an allegorical story inspired by and honoring the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Carleton College will continue to recognize the 50th anniversary of the landmark desegregation decision throughout May. Designed and directed by Carleton art students Kate Strathmann and Max Wirsig, the performance features as its centerpieces three 25-foot-tall hand-made puppets. These large puppets, along with many smaller puppets, have been made over the past few months by students from Carleton, Northfield High School and ARTech, all of whom have volunteered their time. Following the performance, a parade will begin in Central Park and proceed down Division Street. For more information, contact Kate Strathmann at (507) 646-5224 or strathmk@carleton.edu. More About Northfield Community Day of Service Among the many projects planned for volunteers this year are cleanups along Highways 3 and 19, work inside the Girl Scouts Council of Cannon Valley building, reading stories at various senior centers in town, and cleaning the grounds along the Cannon River. “Command central” will be at Central Park near downtown, where volunteers may pick up supplies or be assigned to a project. Volunteers are urged to commence their projects early in the morning, so they can wrap up before noon and join in the picnic, celebration and performance by “Spoken Hand,” a social justice puppet group composed of both Carleton students and community members. For more information, log on to www.communitydayofservice.org or call one of the Northfield Community Day of Service committee co-chairs: Susan Sanderson, 507-664-3650, extension 5, or Candace Lautt, the Acting in the Community Together (ACT) Coordinator at Carleton College, 507-646-4028.